Eating Healthy on the Cheap: Mac & Cheese

Making "homemake" Mac & Cheese can actually be pretty cheap.  Depending on what recipe you use. Sometimes, I just like to make a creamier Mac & Cheese than your orange powder stuff.  But I don't use real cheese so this probably isn't healthy.  Whatever.

Isn't it delicious looking?  

The ingredients are pretty simple:

1/2 box of elbow macaroni.  I get pasta for $1 or less a box.  So .50 cents for the pasta portion.

1 can of Campbell's Condensed Cheddar Cheese sauce.  I stock up on these when they are on sale.  I drop probably about a $1 a can with sales/coupons.   

2 tbsp. of Butter or Margarine or "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter".  Assume $3 a pound and 32 tablespoons in a pound, that's .19 cents for the two tablespoons. I try to get butter product cheaper than this and stock up.  

A splash of Half & Half or Fat-Free Half & Half.  I think I end up using about 1/4 cup (4 tbsp).  If you buy your half & half at BJ's - it's $2 for a quart or 64 tbsp.  So .13 cents for the half & half.  

You get probably about twice as much Mac & Cheese than a typical box of Kraft.  This is more similar to the "Cheesier" varieties - like with the squeeze pouch ones.  You end up dropping about $1.75 making this way instead of $2.50 on a box of the "fancy" stuff.  You get about the same amount as 2 boxes - so instead of $5, you're dropping $1.75.